Shadows of Fire (14 page)

“Not
exactly.”

“Yeah,
didn’t think Ronan’s babysitting had anything to do with condolences over my
loss.” Alex jumped down from the rock, standing toe to toe with him. “But I
thought maybe I’d find a little compassion and understanding here.” She pushed
past him. “Sorry to interrupt your mourning.”

He
grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Two more vampires are dead and a woman’s
missing. Forgive me for not comforting the one person who had a connection to
all of them.”

Alex’s
eyes narrowed. “Me?”

“Three
people in the last twelve hours.” He counted on his fingers. “Glenn, John
Sampson and now Hope.”

“What
about Hope?”

“We
can’t find her.”

Alex
wrapped an arm around her waist, her color paling. “What do you mean
can’t
find her
?”

“As
in
she’s
missing. Her
car’s
missing. Vanished. No sign of her.”

She
looked to the cabin and back to him. He wasn’t sure if the moisture running
down her cheeks was rain or tears. “Where’s Josh?”

“At
her apartment, hoping she’ll call or come home.” He couldn’t read her. Didn’t
know if the news surprised her or confirmed information she already knew.

“And
where did you find John Sampson?”

“Staked
to the floor in the center of Glenn’s barn with his throat ripped open.”

Alex
fell to her knees and puked.

His
heart lurched. Either she was one hell of an actress or the news was more than
she could bear. Squatting next to Alex, Reese reached for her. He didn’t blame
her when she batted his hand away.

She
caught her breath and turned to him, swiping at her mouth. “Don’t try to play
nice now, Reese. I get it, you don’t trust—”

Her
small frame once again convulsed as her stomach retched, purging everything in
her system. Her shuddering breath sawed in and out of her lungs. Even he could
see how little energy she had.

Reese
may have been confused over Alex’s involvement in all of this, but he wasn’t a
complete asshole. He scooped her into his arms. Her efforts to stop him were
weak and ineffective. “Just let me get you inside. You can fight me when you
have your strength back.”

Alex
sipped at the cup of hot water Reese had set in front of her. It was the only
thing she was sure would stay down at this point. He’d given her a spare
toothbrush, a dry T-shirt and some time alone in his bathroom to pull herself
together. She’d refused the blood wine he’d offered, his brow furrowing when
she’d pushed it away, swallowing the bile that rose in her throat. Reese stood
leaning against the sideboard, his arms crossed defensively over his heart.
And
didn’t their timing suck?

“I
need to know, Alex.”

She
inhaled deeply. Her head pounded with the pressure behind her eyes, her stomach
twisting in painful contractions. After what Alex had seen of John last night,
she had no doubt things would only get worse as the day progressed. At least
someone had put the vampire out of his misery. She wondered how the end would
come for her.

In
light of everything happening, Alex
needed
to tell Reese—at least the
sanitized version of the events leading up to Glenn’s death. First, she wanted
to know what Reese had uncovered. “You need to know about what specifically?”

He
closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s me you’re talking to, Alex. Don’t
insult what we have by playing games.”

“I
didn’t kill anyone as you seem to think.”

His
eyes grew dark, the corner of his mouth curving in a malicious smirk. He
straightened and held his palms out, inviting her to rebuke his theory. His
silent recrimination filled the air and Alex could hardly draw breath.
Jesus.
She’d only been grabbing at straws. He
really
thought she’d started the
fire that had killed Glenn and John.

“He
was my father.” Alex’s chin trembled, but the words had come out strong. “I’ve
been listening to him in my head since the day he saved me … and now there’s
nothing.” She swallowed the sorrow threatening to overwhelm her. “Hope is my
best friend. What could ever make you believe I’d hurt them much less …” She
couldn’t say the word. She’d barely processed Glenn’s death and now her best
friend seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth.

In
one long stride, Reese was in her face. “Then make me understand how every human
and every vampire who’s been killed in the last eighteen months has some
affiliation with you. Because from where I’m standing, Alex, it’s hard to see
past those facts.”

His
words were like a hard slap that jerked her head back. “Firefighters don’t investigate
deaths. And if the fire marshal suspected anything, I’d be sitting in a jail
cell and not at your kitchen table.” Her gaze raked his face watching emotions
playing over his features. “Who the hell are you, Reese Colton?”

“An
investigator for the tribunal.”

“If
they think I’m guilty of killing vamps, why haven’t they taken me?”

“They
don’t know what we know. We just uncovered the information yesterday.””

“You’re
not the only one?”

“No.
Josh and Ronan too.”

That
would explain the weird interaction between Ronan and Reese in the wine cellar
yesterday morning. She’d known the two had been connected somehow. “That would
explain why Ronan was so nice and offered me a ride home from the fire.” She
shot him a sarcastic smile. “He didn’t want me to get away.”

Reese
simply shrugged in agreement. “We’re here at Glenn’s request to the tribunal.”

“He
never said anything.” It was all too much to process. Alex got up, pacing the
kitchen, trying to make her mind work through the haze of confusion and pain. “Glenn
believed this evidence also implicated me?”

“We
never had a chance to tell him.” Reese dropped into the kitchen chair, as if the
information they’d found were a burden he couldn’t carry. “Hope discovered your
connection to the fires over the last eighteen months and shared it with Josh
yesterday. We think that’s why she’s missing.”

The
last Alex had seen of her friend, Hope had been running from the barn. She had
tracked John for nearly two hours. By the time she’d followed his trail back to
Glenn’s, the barn had been burning wildly and she hadn’t seen anyone else. Alex
believed Hope had gone for help. “I didn’t hurt her.” Alex’s stomach dropped
and it was all she could do to keep her legs under her. Details were running
together in a sickening haze, confusing the sequence of events, but she was
sure she hadn’t seen the yellow VW at Glenn’s when she’d returned to the barn.
“Reese, I didn’t hurt
any
of them.”

“Let’s
start with the fire last night. Why were you at Glenn’s?”

That
was a loaded question. “Glenn didn’t show up for his shift at the tavern. Since
he was supposed to bring the week’s supply of pig blood for the winery, someone
needed to get it.” It was a lie, but one she’d concocted last night when she’d
run from the tavern. “John Sampson was there feeding the animals. He’s done it
hundreds of times before.” Alex kept her voice steady through the deceit. Reese
didn’t need to know why either of them had been at Glenn’s. Her reason had
nothing to do with hiding a murder, but she did have to wonder if it had something
to do with John’s death.

“What
time was that?”

“I
don’t know, seven or eight? Does it matter?”

“Yeah,
it fucking matters.” Reese’s hand came down hard on the metal table. “Glenn
called us in because vamps were being burned in fires throughout South Kenton.
Since we’ve arrived, not only have the numbers of fires escalated, but now they
include humans who have been sucked dry. And within the last two days the only
human who knew about our covert investigation, Paul Morgan, has been murdered
along with the vampire who got the ball rolling. It’s not just anyone who
drives a stake in a man’s heart and burns them to death. We’ve got a rogue
vampire on a rampage. So yeah, Alex, I think any information you have about the
fires fucking matters.”

“Reese,
I just don’t know. It was dark by the time we finished with the animals. John
left and I went to get the pig blood out of the cooler where Glenn stores it.”

“Did
you see anyone else at that time?’ His voice, smooth and thick as blood,
dripped with bitterness.

She
shook her head. There’s no way she could explain Hope’s involvement in the
night’s activities. Besides, the woman had been alive when she’d left her.
Tears welled in her eyes as the sadness pressed hot in her throat. She dropped
in the chair across from him.

“You
didn’t see anyone around who could have started the fire?”

She’d
been too intent on stopping John to know if anyone but Hope had been at the
barn. “Not until I got back, after dropping off the wine.”

“What
sent you back?”

“I
hadn’t heard from Glenn.” It frightened Alex how easily the lies tripped off
her tongue and rolled into a huge tangle of deceit. She’d concocted the whole
scenario by the river in the early hours of dawn while she’d waited for Reese.
There was no reason for anyone to know she’d run after John in hopes of saving
him. No one would believe her anyway. Not when everyone who mattered to her was
dying. They hadn’t died at her hands, but obviously knowing Alexandra Flanagan
was a pastime you didn’t survive.

She’d
come seeking solace in Reese’s arms—and his bed. She’d wanted one day of lust
to take with her when she left. That had been something else Alex had decided while
she’d sat by the river. She needed to leave and take her secrets with her. The
cracker and blood wine mash hadn’t stayed down. Alex had puked on the side of
the road on her way to the barn.

If
she couldn’t help herself, there was no way she could save others from John’s
fate. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Life as she knew it was over.

Reese
squeezed her hand, pulling her from her morose thoughts. “Hey, you need a
minute?”

She
grabbed a napkin from the metal dispenser on the table and mopped up her tears.
“No. I’m fine. What did you ask?”

“I
asked you what time you got back to Glenn’s.”

“I
have no idea. When I got there the second time, the barn was on fire.” It was
the one solid fact she’d based her whole story upon. “I panicked and tried to
go in to see if I could put it out.” Her voice grew weak with exhaustion. “But
it was too hot and it was spreading so fast. I dialed 9-1-1 and went looking out
back for Glenn. His truck was there.” She looked at Reese with renewed hope.
“Dispatch should have the time of my call. That should help piece everything
together.”

Reese’s
eyes didn’t reflect her optimism. “They do. Ten fifteen.” He paused. “According
to Chris, you left the tavern a little after seven. I checked with him this
morning. He said you didn’t come back.”

“I
went directly into the cellars from outside.”

“And
no one saw you?”

“I
didn’t want anyone to see me with the pig blood. I took a chance bringing it
during business hours, but I needed to get another batch started. Glenn …” She
shook her head. The vampire’s name opened her to the grief squeezing her heart.
“I didn’t know Glenn and John were in the barn. I should have tried harder ….”

“There’s
just got to be more to this whole thing. Obviously, you’re the common
denominator.” Hard lines creased the corners of his eyes and mouth as he
grabbed a large pad of paper and a pen. “We’re going to start from Glenn’s and
work backwards through all the fires. Tell me about Thursday night and the
professor …”

Reese
continued taking working backward over the last year. Asking questions and
taking notes. Fire by fire. Death by death. Alex had remembered how every loss
had stolen a piece of her heart, but not where she’d been when the fires had started.
She’d touched the lives of every vampire and every human Reese asked her about,
either at the tavern, the university or in her personal life. The evidence
mounting against her was damning.

Over
the two hours Reese grilled her, Alex focused on the facts and not the panic
working to tear her apart. But as Reese leaned back in his chair, stretching
his cramped muscles, she could no longer deny that the tribunal had a solid
case against her.

Restless,
she got up, clearing away the bottle of blood wine neither of them had touched
and her empty cup. The tepid water had managed to tamp down the nausea, but not
her hunger.

“I
don’t know why someone’s done this. But they certainly have crossed every ‘t’
and dotted every ‘i’ on my death certificate.” Alex stared out the window over
the sink, watching the flow of the river. Maybe this was an easier ending. She
certainly didn’t want to feel the desperation John had been experiencing last
night. She guessed it was inevitable given the path she’d chosen months ago
that her life would end in a slow, agonizing hell.

“So
you’re just going to give up?”

She
turned back to Reese as he pushed back from the table.